How to Become a Pharmacy Technician in Arkansas

Checked against Arkansas State Board of Pharmacy (Arkansas Department of Health) · Verified 2026-10-14

Exam: Not required
Training: Not required
Term: 2 years
State fee: Board rule 17 CAR § 160-107 caps the original technician permit fee at $35 and renewal at $35 per year; the exact amount charged is shown in the portal and is not published on the Board's pages. Biennial renewal costs two annual renewal fees. If you are first registered in the first year of the two-year term, you pay the initial fee plus the second year's annual fee; if first registered in the second year, you pay only the initial fee until the next renewal (17 CAR § 160-107(d)(3)-(5)). Reinstatement is $40 plus current registration fees.
Regulated by: Arkansas State Board of Pharmacy (Arkansas Department of Health)

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Who can apply

Be a high school graduate or have a GED (17 CAR § 160-904).
Complete a state (Arkansas State Police) and federal (FBI) fingerprint-based criminal background check.
A past record of alcohol or drug addiction or a controlled-substance law violation requires the Board's prior approval.
Some convictions make you ineligible unless the Board grants a waiver (request for waiver form plus court records and a notarized statement).

Step by step

Create a personal profile in the Board's online licensing portal (all individual applications must be filed there).
Enter your date of birth and Social Security number in the profile so the background check can run.
Start a new Pharmacy Technician application and complete every item on its Requirements page.
Complete the state and FBI background check; Arkansas residents must use electronic live scan fingerprinting.
Pay the invoice by credit card in the portal; staff do not review the application until it is paid and complete.
Do not work until the Board issues your certificate of registration and permit.
Renew by December 31 of each even-numbered year.

Official application →

Training and exam

Training: No state-mandated training program for registration. Before a technician helps with reconstitution, bulk compounding or preparing parenteral (IV) products, the pharmacist-in-charge must provide initial training, skills assessment and a test (17 CAR §§ 160-905, 160-906).

Exam: No state exam and no national certification is required to register.

No national exam required here. If you plan to get PTCB certified anyway, practice for the PTCE free →

What it costs in Arkansas

Fixed amounts are set by the state. Items marked “your quote” are priced by private sellers, so enter what you’re quoted.

Pharmacy technician registration/permit fee (rule caps it at $35 for issuance and $35 per year for renewal; exact amount shown in portal)$
State and FBI criminal background check with fingerprints$
Credit card processing fee in the portal (3% + $1.00)$

Estimated total in Arkansas$0Plus 3 items with no state-set price. Add your quotes above to complete the total.

Cost details from the state

State and FBI background check / fingerprinting fees (paid per Board instructions; amount not published by the Board)
Card processing fee on portal payments: 3% + $1.00 per transaction

Help while you start out in Arkansas

Starting out on an entry-level wage? Check the SNAP income limits in Arkansas by household size.

What other sites get wrong about Arkansas

Myth: An Arkansas pharmacy technician registration expires on December 31 every year.

Fact: Technician registrations expire December 31 of even-numbered years and are renewed every two years. source

Myth: You apply by mailing a paper application with a check or money order to the Board.

Fact: The Board now requires all individual applications to be submitted through its online licensing portal, paid by credit card. source

Once you're registered

Renewal: Technician registrations expire December 31 of even-numbered years (biennially). If the renewal is unpaid by February 1, a monthly late penalty applies (the general Board penalty is $20 per month); if still unpaid by April 1 the registration is void. A void registration can be reinstated by paying the $40 reinstatement fee plus the renewal fee and passing a new background check. Arkansas does not set a CE requirement for technician renewal in its rules.

Good to know in Arkansas

Provisional registration: While FBI results are pending, the Board may issue a non-renewable provisional registration that ends when the results arrive or after 180 days, whichever is first (17 CAR §§ 160-3101, 160-3102).

Out-of-state applicants: Arkansas residents must use electronic live scan fingerprints; out-of-state applicants still submit fingerprint cards with the out-of-state identity verification form.

Reinstating soon after lapse: If your registration expired within the last year, the pharmacist-in-charge must complete and notarize an Affidavit of Assurance of Pharmacy Technician Compliance.

Changing jobs: Before working at a new or additional pharmacy, both you and that pharmacy's pharmacist-in-charge must notify the Board; you cannot work there until the Board has the notice.

Sources

General information, not legal advice. Fees and rules change — confirm with Arkansas State Board of Pharmacy (Arkansas Department of Health) before you apply.